Functional Analysis and Treatment of Problem Behavior Related to Requests for Reordering of Stimuli in the Environment
Valeria Solimini, Claudia Costella
The aim of the present study was to use a multiple reinforcement (multiple schedule) + differential reinforcement of other behaviours (DRO) scheme to reduce the frequency of problem behaviours related to tidying up requests demonstrated by a 15-year-old girl with autism spectrum disorder. The requests consisted in pronouncing «a posto» («tidy up») to put objects back in their original position, for this reason it was not necessary to carry out specific training regarding the teaching of a functional communicative response that was already present in the student’s repertoire. However, if the adult was unable to honour the aforementioned request, the girl emitted problem behaviours such as high-intensity screams. In the baseline phase, a multi-element design was used to evaluate the function of the inappropriate behaviours, measuring their frequency in the test and control conditions. The treatment involved a gradual increase in the duration of the extinction component (EXT) with respect to the reinforcing component, up to a condition of S∆ of 10 minutes and SD of 90 seconds. The results were evaluated using an A-B research design and indicate a systematic reduction in the frequency of challenging behaviours with the introduction of treatment and generalization across settings and individuals.
Keywords
Autism, Extinction, DRO, Multiple schedule, IISCA.
